The Snowman (2017)

Directed by: Thomas Alfredson

Written by: Peter Straughan, Hossein Amini, Søren Sveistrup, & Jo Nesbø (novel)

Starring: Michael Fassbender & Rebecca Ferguson






Slowest movie I've seen in a long time.

After women go missing, Harry (Fassbender) and Katrine (Ferguson) begin to find snowmen along with them dead bodies, if there.  Working together, they discover clues to eventually solve the snowman killer.

The film was predictable and like I said, slow.  There was no action really and the investigators kept going back and forth on what they thought were clues, yadda yadda yadda.

Don't see it.  Not worth your time and is hella boring.

1 popcorn.

Mother! (2017)

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky

Written by: Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, & Ed Harris






The movie without character names.  Thanks Aronofsky.

Lawrence plays a housewife that is remodeling her husband's childhood home.  Bardem, her husband, is a famous author trying to write his next book without any success or inspiration.  After a husband shows up unannounced, it goes down hill from here.  Bardem, being a great host, allows Harris in to stay the night.  Lawrence, deeply upset by this fears the strangers and wonders their intention.  Next thing you know, more guests show up, causing Lawrence deep anxiety.  The film spirals out of control to end up with (SPOILER below)...

...Lawrence dying and Bardem claiming her heart to restart the whole cycle again.  It was confusing for the most part.  Was Bardem God?  Was he the devil?  Was he mother earth?  Was she?  There wasn't a definite answer, which I guess is supposed to make it brilliant, but from what I heard, it made it some people very upset.

For example, if he was God, why would he allow his wife and child to die, especially all the violence that led to that.  But at the same time, religiously speaking God did sacrifice Jesus.

But then there are theories of him being the devil.  That would explain his charisma and the violence. Plus, the claiming of all the souls and pretty much life being destroyed.  But is the devil capable of love and to love all his fans and wife?

Then the theory of mother Earth.  Is each wife mother Earth?  That would explain the title and how her heart can recreate life.  But he's the one that does it.  And if the crystal that broke in the movie representing balance and peace didn't break, would Lawrence still be alive?

I don't know.  And this is why it's 3 popcorns.  It's an artistic film with an unconventional ending as well as confusing and mostly unsatisfactory one.  But I still liked it.

It (2017)

Directed by: Andy Muschietti

Written by: Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, & Stephen King (novel)

Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, & Wyatt Oleff




I saw the original and this version is way better.

A group of students begin noticing that people are missing and after doing their research, they find that it happens every 27 years.  After discovering that something is abducting kids, each of the group members begins having their greatest fear haunt them, controlled by the evil clown/demon Pennywise (Skarsgård).

To me, and to others, the film is not scary.  It's creepy, but also funny.  The kids make the film and have great chemistry with each other as well as emulate how kids are, picking on each other, but still being friends.

Other than the kids being great, Skarsgård also did a great Pennywise.  Apparently, from looking at the trivia, he did a lot of his own stunts and like the part where he contorts his body is real and not CGI.  That makes it even creepier.

4 popcorns.

Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Directed by: David F. Sandberg

Written by: Gary Dauberman

Starring: Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson, & Stephanie Sigman








I recommend, before watching this film, you to watch the first one first.  Otherwise you might be lost or not see the connection between the films.

A group of orphans move into a new home where weird things begin to happen to Janice (Bateman) and her best friend Linda (Wilson) after discovering a strange doll in the closet.  After a while, the doll becomes more dangerous and needs to take a human soul in order to live on and become stronger.

Now that's where I became confused.  Apparently, the doll is not possessed, it's just attached to an evil spirit.  I thought the doll had the demon inside it, but note to self, it just waits for a host a.k.a. one of the girls.

The film was very tense for the most part and had a complete plot that gave you that "aha" moment at the end.  You can see how the films connect and even get a sense of the true story as well.  (Since if you didn't know, the real doll is a raggedy Ann doll.)

Other than that, there isn't much else to say.  I didn't get scared as much as I was creeped out and tense.  I guess knowing something is coming helps with the fear.  The best part though was the ending because, like I said, it had the connection between the films.  That's what pushed it up to a 4, otherwise it would have been a 3.

4 popcorns.

Wish Upon (2017)

Directed by: John R. Leonetti

Written by: Barbara Marshall

Starring: Joey King, Ryan Phillippe, & Ki Hong Lee




Clare (King) ends up with this Chinese music box given to her by her father, Jonathan (Phillippe).  After reading the box, she sees that she can make seven wishes.  But after a few wishes, she notices that everyone she loves is starting to die.  Is it connected to the music box?  And if so, can she stop making wishes to save the ones she love.

I was so entertained by this film even though it was kind of predictable.

The movie basically has this overall theme of be careful what you wish for, original right?  King as well as her costars make the film feel more like a thriller than a horror film, but the horror comes from the Final Destination type deaths that come with each wish.

I liked the backstory given with the music box as well as how literal the wishes were.  Plus everything she wished for is typical for a teenager to wish for.  It's a great little horror flick that will entertain you and give you the creeps from the graphic deaths.  The film as a whole was a little predictable, but still good overall.  4 popcorns.

47 Meters Down (2017)

Directed by: Johannes Roberts

Written by: Johannes Roberts & Ernest Riera

Starring: Mandy Moore & Claire Holt




Lisa (Moore) and Kate (Holt) are on vacation in Mexico.  To get closer to some romantic interests and also to make the most of their vacation, both agree to do some diving, but safely.  Both enter into a cage to keep them safe from sharks, but as they enjoy their time underwater, the cage falls down 47 meters.  Now the sisters must figure out how to get back on the boat before their oxygen runs out or the sharks eat them.

This film was so intense.  It is the best shark film I have seen thus far.

The best part of the film was the twist at the end.  But besides that, as an audience member, you felt like the characters.  You didn't know where the sharks were compared to other films where there was dramatic irony.  There was no music nor visuals to give away where the sharks were.  You were just as lost as Lisa and Kate.

A third positive is the science and survival techniques behind the film.  I thought at first, Why don't they swim to the top?  Duh.  But apparently that can damage your brain.  Who knew right?

There were parts of the film where the characters' actions were not predictable, but intelligent.  I know if I was in that situation, I would have died so fast.

Everyone go see this film!  I haven't heard much about it, but it is seriously amazing and keeps you on your toes the whole time.

5 popcorns!

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Written by: Jack Paglen (story), Michael Green (story), John Logan, & Dante Harper

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, & Billy Crudup





In order to create a new civilization, a large group of colonists, embryos, and a crew voyage to a new planet.  On their way, their ship becomes damaged and the crew must awake to fix it.  While doing so, they receive an interesting transmission that peaks their curiosity of a new planet that they never discovered before and is closer.  The captain, Oram (Crudup) decides it is best to travel to this planet despite Daniels' (Waterston), his second in command, protests.  On this new planet, they discover that they are not alone.

I had not watched the previous Alien movies, but this film provided enough information for me to catch up.  But, for those that did watch the previous movies, the beginning dragged from what I heard.  It took too long for the crew to discover the aliens, but to me, it provided essential backstory, especially since I hadn't seen an Alien film before.

On another note, Michael Fassbender.  When he first appeared, I was very apprehensive about his character since he plays a robot.  It was difficult to imagine him as a robot, but he grew on me.

Overall, not too bad, but just be aware of the two notes above.  4 popcorns.

The Belko Experiment (2016)

Directed by: Greg McLean

Written by: James Gunn

Starring: John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, & Adria Arjona




So this film has no huge stars.   The biggest being Goldwyn from Scandal, but the film is well done overall.

In Columbia is Belko Inc.  Various people work in this company, mostly Americans, that help other companies outsource their workforce.  The company itself seems ridiculous, but the story continues with the doors and windows being shut on them with an intercom system announcing that it practically just became The Hunger Games.  At first, it seems like a joke, but when people's heads start exploding, the characters go into fight or flight mode.

The film is extremely entertaining and you end up rooting for your favorite character.  (Mine died, by the way.)  At the end of the film you're eager for more and may get it if the film does well.  But considering how much it is advertised in the media, it's unlikely there will be a sequel.

Nevertheless, I recommend everyone go see this film to enjoy a great action game show type film.

4 popcorns.

Get Out (2017)

Directed by: Jordan Peele

Written by: Jordan Peele

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya & Allison Williams




At first I didn't think this was 5 popcorns.  I didn't feel anything about it and I wasn't super shocked by the ending, but...then I saw a Buzzfeed article that changed everything.

In the Buzzfeed article, that you can see here, it basically says all the hidden secret things the film had.  I missed most of them and thought it was very creative after that.  I love foreshadowing and puns in films.

So the film had a lot of these, boosting up the popcorn rating.  In addition, the storyline is very creative.  I thought it was going to be about white people enslaving blacks as their slaves using hypnosis as the best friend said, but it's more Sci-Fi than that.

Even though the film is intense, the best friend Rod (played by LilRel Howery) eases the tension throughout the film.  Not sure that I like the tension being eased though.  But maybe Peele put it in in order to not disappoint audience members just in case the tension was too big to fulfill everyone's expectations.

5 popcorns.

Split (2016)

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Written by: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, & Betty Buckley



Before watching this film, I had heard mixed reviews.  It was doing well in the media, meaning the news and other entertainment channels.  But via social media, everyone was saying it was okay.  I had high expectations, but I was trying to adjust them to not end up disappointed like The Last Airbender.

Three girls get abducted by Dennis (McAvoy), one of the 23 personalities living within one body.  The girls then, of course, try to escape while dealing with various people (personalities) that continuously confuse them.

The film was great, up until the end. There were instances where the film was comical due to McAvoy's performance of the personalities that didn't relate to his regular persona, such as the 9-year-old boy Hedwig.  But even though it was funny at times, I still felt it was believable.

The ending though messed it up.  They introduced an Unbreakable character, which felt out of place and one of the personalities was a stretch.  But they did give enough backstory as to why that personality emerged.

This film is more of a rent type movie rather than watch in theaters.  So try to get it at red-box.  3 popcorns.

Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)

Directed by: Mike Flanagan

Written by: Mike Flanagan & Jeff Howard

Starring: Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, & Annalise Basso




I believe I didn't watch the first film so I'm not sure if they are related.  They probably are, but this review is specifically about this film only.

Alice Zander (Reaser) wants to spice up her fortune teller act by adding a Ouija board.  In an attempt to contact her late father, Doris (Wilson), Zander's youngest daughter, begins using the board, but unfortunately contacts something other than her dear loved one.  Eventually the "something" becomes powerful enough to take over Doris' body to the point where people begin dying and weird things start to happen.

I was very entertained.  This movie was not necessarily scary, but more creepy than anything.  There weren't many jumping scared parts, but the way the little girl acted was believable enough to send chills down your spine.

I was a little confused about the ending, but after clarification from the person I went with, I suppose it made more sense.  My issue was with how the character was acting, when it was out of her persona.

Even so, 4 popcorns.